Letters from Charles Dickens to Angela Burdett-Coutts 1841-1865, Charles Dickens — 1st Ed

Publication: London, Jonathan Cape, 1953

Formatting: 8vo, pp. xii, [2], 415.

Condition Report: Good. An ex-library copy exhibiting the expected institutional marks and wear, yet remaining a perfectly serviceable reading copy. The publisher's original blue cloth boards, backed with a slightly darkened and soiled lighter spine, show moderate rubbing, with painted library shelfmarks present at the foot. It is currently housed in a protective plastic sleeve with taped edges, which has left faint adhesive offsetting to the endpapers. The binding itself remains reasonably firm and square. Internally, the front pastedown bears a striking, large pictorial bookplate from the City of Liverpool Public Libraries, prominently stamped "OUT OF STOCK," alongside a modern barcode label. An inked accession number is noted on the verso of the title page. The text block edges are moderately toned with age, and while the pages show some general age-related darkening, they remain largely clean and unmarked by reader notations, preserving the integrity of the text.

Catalogue Note: First UK Edition. This volume collects the extensive and historically rich correspondence between Charles Dickens and the banking heiress and philanthropist Angela Burdett-Coutts. The text is accompanied by a frontispiece portrait of Dickens by Ary Scheffer.

The present copy holds notable institutional provenance, having once been part of the City of Liverpool Public Libraries collection. Its large, finely illustrated library bookplate, bearing the city's motto "Deus Nobis Haec Otia Fecit," is proudly affixed to the front pastedown, marking its life within the public lending system before being formally deaccessioned.

While true first editions in exceptional condition can command a premium, ex-library copies such as this provide an accessible and characterful entry point for researchers and enthusiasts of Dickensian history, circulating with relative commonness on the secondary market. 

For over two decades, Charles Dickens maintained a remarkably candid and revealing correspondence with the pioneering philanthropist Angela Burdett-Coutts. This fascinating collection of letters, selected from the Pierpont-Morgan Library, chronicles their unique collaborative partnership in establishing Urania Cottage, a sanctuary for fallen women, and sheds profound light on Dickens's passionate social conscience. Masterfully edited and contextualised by Edgar Johnson, these private writings strip away the novelist's public persona, offering readers an intimate glimpse into Dickens's tireless drive for social reform, his views on Victorian morality, and his profound empathy for the marginalised classes of 19th-century England.